There was a time when Renan Barao (34-4) was considered one of the best fighters in the world. The former bantamweight kingpin had a stellar record of 32-1 and was thought to be untouchable. Even Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White put Barao high up on his pound-for-pound list. Things have changed. Two devastating
There was a time when Renan Barao (34-4) was considered one of the best fighters in the world. The former bantamweight kingpin had a stellar record of 32-1 and was thought to be untouchable. Even Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White put Barao high up on his pound-for-pound list.
Things have changed.
Two devastating losses to TJ Dillashaw and a decision defeat at the hands of Jeremy Stephens has put Barao in a tough spot. He had a chance to earn his first win since late 2014 when he competed against Phillipe Nover (11-7-1) at UFC Fight Night 95.
While he didn’t look like the same man that put fear in the 135-pound division, Barao did walk away with a win.
The two exchanged jabs to get the first round underway. “The Baron” blocked a couple of high kicks. Barao landed an inside leg kick and moved forward with punches. Nover countered with a left hook and got his opponent off balance momentarily. A jab found the mark for “Super.” Barao consistently kicked the lead leg of Nover. A spinning heel kick attempt from Barao was off. The horn sounded shortly after.
A right hand scored for “The Baron” early in the second round. A combination found the mark for Barao and he landed a jumping kick. Barao had a burst after over a minute of toning down with a body punch. With about 13 seconds left in the round, Barao secured a takedown and held top control until the round was over.
The final round started and Nover landed a counter left hook. A hard straight right landed for Barao. “The Baron” got in a body lock and tripped “Super.” Nover got to his feet quickly. Barao ducked under a punch and landed an uppercut to the body. An inside elbow connected for Nover. A knee to the body found the mark for Barao. He took Nover down as the final horn sounded.
Barao was named the winner after the score totals were in favor of the former champion.
Final Result: Renan Barao def. Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Two seasoned heavyweights in need of a win met inside the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 95. Roy Nelson (22-13) did battle with Antonio Silva (19-10-1). “Big Country” was on the losing end of four of his last five bouts. Meanwhile, “Bigfoot” had a record of 1-5-1 in his last seven fights. Ouch. Luckily for
Two seasoned heavyweights in need of a win met inside the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 95. Roy Nelson (22-13) did battle with Antonio Silva (19-10-1). “Big Country” was on the losing end of four of his last five bouts. Meanwhile, “Bigfoot” had a record of 1-5-1 in his last seven fights.
Ouch.
Luckily for “Big Country” he turned his fortunes around a bit, although he had some gripes at the end of his victory.
Nelson threw a leg kick and ducked under a hook. Nelson parried a body kick attempt and missed a right hand over the top. Silva went high with a kick that was blocked. “Bigfoot” ate a right hand. “Big Country” stepped in and connected with a body kick. Nelson pressed his opponent against the fence. The two separated and the round ended shortly after.
The start of the second round saw both men throwing leather. Silva went for a kick, but got clipped with a right hand. Silva kicked Nelson below the belt and time called. When the fight resumed, “Bigfoot” went for a takedown, but it was thwarted. Nelson went for a left hook, uppercut combination but he couldn’t find the mark. Silva was tagged with a right hand. “Bigfoot” was dropped with an uppercut and he landed some more punches to finish the fight.
Post-fight, Nelson went over to referee “Big” John McCarthy and did a little shove with his foot. He looked none too pleased with McCarthy’s officiating. He told Jon Anik there was no sense in having to punch Silva as many times as he did and the fight should’ve been stopped sooner.
Final Result: Roy Nelson def. Antonio Silva via TKO (Punches) – R2, 4:10
UFC Fight Night 95 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, September 24th) from the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. The UFC Fight Pass prelims begin at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT and feature three bouts, the FOX Sports 1 prelims begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 pm. PT and feature
UFC Fight Night 95 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, September 24th) from the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. The UFC Fight Pass prelims begin at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT and feature three bouts, the FOX Sports 1 prelims begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 pm. PT and feature four bouts. The main card begins on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and feature six bouts.
The main features Cris Cyborg vs. Lina Lansberg while the co-main event features Renan Barao vs. Phillipe Nover. Rounding out the main card is Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva, Francisco Trinaldo vs. Paul Felder, and Godofredo Pepey vs. Mike De La Torre.
Here are the full UFC Fight Night 95 betting odds courtesy of BigOnSports:
The UFC rolls on with a jam-packed month of September tomorrow night (Sat., September 24, 2016) with UFC Fight Night 95 from Ginásio Nilson Nelson in Brasília, Brazil. The main bout features the second UFC appearance of dominant Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, whose dramatic weight cut has been the main focus of most
The UFC rolls on with a jam-packed month of September tomorrow night (Sat., September 24, 2016) with UFC Fight Night 95 from Ginásio Nilson Nelson in Brasília, Brazil.
The main bout features the second UFC appearance of dominant Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, whose dramatic weight cut has been the main focus of most news about the card this week. As for the actual fight, “Cyborg” will continue facing relatively unknown opponents in 6-1 UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg. Not surprisingly, the numbers are once again in Justino’s favor in no small way.
In the co-main event former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao will seek his first win at featherweight after he lost a close decision to Top 10-ranked Jeremy Stephens earlier this year. “The Baron” will also face an unranked foe in Phillipe Nover, proving that the odds are predicting big wins for the hometown Brazilian favorites.
Will the results be any different for the long shots in Brasilia? Find out if we think so below.
Cyborg vs. Lina Lansberg:
Mike Drahota:
It’s hard to predict any result but yet another huge “Cyborg” knockout here, and I feel like the -1285 favorite Justino comes in at according to BigOnSports.com could be a bigger number, just as the debuting Lansberg could be a bigger underdog than +712.
Justino has endured a taxing weight cut to make 140 again; that much we all know, but that’s probably the only hope Lansberg truly has. I think “Cyborg” will show up and take care of business like she usually does despite the cut. Can’t see anything but a first round KO for Cyborg.
Rory Kernaghan:
Cris Cyborg continues her UFC journey against a mostly unknown, at least in the MMA world, Lina Lansberg this weekend. ‘Elbow Princess’ is the much smaller fighter, as are most compared to the towering figure of Cristiane Justino, but she does have some striking chops. She’s won multiple championships in the Muay Thai realm, and her MMA record stands at 6-1.
The difference here, aside from the size, also is the experience. Cyborg has been fighting at the top level in mixed martial arts her entire career, and I feel this will show. Add in the fact she is absolutely huge and her levels of sheer aggression are through the roof–you have a simple conclusion. Cyborg by KO in round one.
Mike Henken:
‘Cyborg’ may have endured a brutal weight cut to get down to 140 pounds, but I feel as if this is a squash match. The Brazilian slugger typically rehydrates well, and once she does, I don’t see Lansberg having an answer for her power. ‘Cyborg’ by first round knockout.
Renan Barao vs. Phillipe Nover:
Mike Drahota:
Much has been made of Barao’s demise, and perhaps deservedly so, but if the scorecards were tipped in his favor just a bit against Stephens, we might be talking about a future contender at featherweight. Barao is feeling pressure to perform in his homeland, yet I think the unranked Nover is the perfect opponent to get off his recent snide. He’s a sizeable -455 favorite against +360 dog Nover according to BigOnSports, and the line seems about on the money. I think “The Baron” will be able to get this to the ground and use his top-shelf jiu-jitsu skills. Barao by second round submission.
Rory Kernaghan:
Former bantamweight champion Renan Barao has suffered a dip in his form recently. After dropping a decision to the underdog Jeremy Stephens in his featherweight debut, the Brazilian Nova Uniao fighter is in desperate need of a win. In Nover you have a BJJ black belt under ‘Soca,’ but he is yet to find his feet in the UFC. After winning a close split against Yui Nam, Nover dropped one to Tukhugov, and I don’t see him rebounding against the highest caliber opponent of his career. Barao will simply be too much, too fast and too powerful in my opinion. I’m picking ‘The Baron’ for a first round TKO.
Mike Henken:
In my opinion, Barao isn’t the fighter he once was. It’s clear that he has hit some rough times since the days when he was considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. With that being said, however, he remains not only a very talented fighter, but a very well rounded fighter as well. He’s explosive on the feet with a lethal Muay Thai Arsenal, and his ground game is over looked. Nover has lost four of his last five and I expect that trend to continue in Brazil. Barao by unanimous decision.
If you want to see one reason why Cris “Cyborg” Justino is a heavy betting favorite over Lina Lansberg Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 95, check out the video below when the two faced of…
If you want to see one reason why Cris “Cyborg” Justino is a heavy betting favorite over Lina Lansberg Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 95, check out the video below when the two faced off after media day events recently in Brazil.
In the video above, you can listen in on highlights from media day with Cyborg, Lansberg and others.
Self-confidence is definitely there for Phillipe Nover ahead of UFC Fight Night 95.
The 32-year-old Nover will take on former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao in Brazil on Saturday night in the co-main event. After returning to the UFC last year with defeating Yui Chul Nam, the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up was defeated by Zubaira Tukhugov in December.
No matter all that, as Nover (11-6-1) sees himself putting an early night to the work of Barao.
“I believe I’m gonna get a finish, I don’t wanna go to the judges, because I think it’s always a risk,” he said. “So I will need to finish or be pretty dominant.”
Nover’s first UFC run ended in 2010 after three consecutive losses, but he went 5-2 away from the promotion and earned another shot. He owns five submission wins to his credit and is a former Ring of Combat lightweight champion.
“I see this as the biggest opportunity of my career,” he said. “Fighting a former World Champion, with so many accomplishments, will be a true test for me and I believe that I shine best when the odds are against me. So I think this will raise me up to where I need to be in the division.”
Self-confidence is definitely there for Phillipe Nover ahead of UFC Fight Night 95.
The 32-year-old Nover will take on former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao in Brazil on Saturday night in the co-main event. After returning to the UFC last year with defeating Yui Chul Nam, the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up was defeated by Zubaira Tukhugov in December.
No matter all that, as Nover (11-6-1) sees himself putting an early night to the work of Barao.
“I believe I’m gonna get a finish, I don’t wanna go to the judges, because I think it’s always a risk,” he said. “So I will need to finish or be pretty dominant.”
Nover’s first UFC run ended in 2010 after three consecutive losses, but he went 5-2 away from the promotion and earned another shot. He owns five submission wins to his credit and is a former Ring of Combat lightweight champion.
“I see this as the biggest opportunity of my career,” he said. “Fighting a former World Champion, with so many accomplishments, will be a true test for me and I believe that I shine best when the odds are against me. So I think this will raise me up to where I need to be in the division.”
